Gemotions

The email shimmered on Maya’s phone screen. She reread it, the words blurring around the edges. Her breath hitched. Her acceptance letter. Her scholarship acceptance letter. Then, the sentence she hadn’t noticed the first time: “We regret to inform you…” A tremor ran through her.

Her fingers fumbled, dropping the phone onto the worn carpet of her dorm room. The air felt suddenly thin. She felt like a balloon that had been punctured, slowly deflating. This was her lifeline. Her escape. Gone.

She felt a strange disconnect, as if she were watching herself from outside. Her hands started to shake. The words, the stark reality, felt unreal.